Coming of Age Quotes in A Game of Thrones

How we cite our quotes: (Absolute Chapter, Character Name, Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

1. Yet in that moment, Will thought, he was a boy no longer, but a man of the Night's Watch. (1 Prologue.89)

This notion of growing up and being "a man of the Night's Watch" is echoed when Jon joins the gang: "You knelt as boys…. Rise now as men of the Night's Watch" (49 Jon 6.70). But we might ask what is it that makes them grow up in that moment. Is it standing up to danger (as Waymar Royce does) or accepting the responsibilities of the Night's Watch?

Quote #2

Tyrion grinned at him. "That's good, bastard. Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it." (14 Tyrion 2.61)

Sure, this book has a lot of Coming of Age stories, but many of the Stark kids are already pretty mature at the beginning. Here, Tyrion lays down a distinction between simply being adult ("most men") and actually being mature (facing a hard truth). That's going to be a large part of Jon's coming of age.

Quote #3

"This willfulness of yours, the running off, the angry words, the disobedience... at home, these were only the summer games of a child. Here and now, with winter soon upon us, that is a different matter. It is time to begin growing up." (23 Arya 2.72)

Eddard makes a connection between the seasons and growing up, but he also points out the geographic reason for maturing: in the north, we were at home, but here in the south, when we're surrounded by enemies, we have to be more adult. Makes sense to us. It's like how we can run around in our own backyard, but we need to be a little more careful when we're not on our own turf.